THE RADIUM TREASURE--CONCLUSION
“Bless my soul!” exclaimed Professor Snodgrass.
Bob, with a catching of his breath, and a nervous tremor, started to
run in a panic. But Jerry caught him by the shoulder.
“Hold on!” the tall lad cried. “It’s only a man.”
“A--a man!” gasped the fat lad. “I thought----”
“Stop thinking!” commanded Jerry.
The man in the cave advanced, and the boys and the professor saw that
he carried a torch made from some resinous wood that burned with much
smoke.
“Who are you?” again demanded the man, holding his torch on high. “Who
comes here to disturb me? Why can’t you let me die in peace?”
The professor took a sudden resolve. Afterward he said he did not know
why he did it.
“Hartley Bentwell!” cried the scientist, “we have come to save you.
You are not going to die. We have come to take you away from Snake
Island!”
The effect of these words on the unfortunate man was indescribable. He
fairly leaped forward, and a cry came from his lips.
“You know me!” he exclaimed. “You have come to save me? Oh, the dear
Lord be thanked! Yes, I am Hartley Bentwell, but in a few days more I
would not have known myself. I--I fear I was going mad. It was almost
the end. Oh, what a life I have lived on this island! Unable to escape!
Menaced by the snakes! Not a soul to speak to! In fear of the floods!
Oh, even now, my mind is not right!”
“There, there!” exclaimed the professor soothingly, as he would have
talked to a child. “You are with friends. You will soon be away from
here, and in your own home. We are going to restore you to the world
again. You have seen the last of Snake Island.”
“The last of Snake Island! Oh----” but the unfortunate castaway could
say no more, for he had fainted, and would have fallen, had not Jerry
and Ned caught him.
“Quick! Carry him to the _Comet_,” directed the professor. “When he
comes to, he must find himself in brighter surroundings.”
This was quickly done, and, as the rain soon stopped, and the sun came
out, when Mr. Bentwell became conscious, he found himself in a pleasant
cabin, surrounded by his new friends. A look of wonder came over his
face, and the wild, half-insane stare faded from his eyes.
“Here, drink this,” commanded Uriah Snodgrass, and he held out a bowl
of nourishing soup.
And, following a refreshing sleep, that afternoon, while seated in
the airship cabin, Mr. Bentwell told his story. He had been with the
scientists who, about a year before, had come to search for the radium
on Snake Island. There had been an accident, one boat was wrecked,
and the unfortunate man was cast alone on the island. His companions
escaped, and got back to civilization, believing him drowned.
The cargo of the boat, consisting of a considerable quantity of
provisions, stores and tools, was washed up on the island.
He built the hut, and rudely furnished it. Then, having nothing else to
do, being unable to escape from the island, he began a search for the
radium, as told in his torn notebook. But he could not find it.
Then floods came, there were several visitations of snakes, and, in
terror, he fled to the hill, where he found the cave that he made his
home, only going occasionally to the hut. He had been away from it
for several days when Noddy and his companions took up their abode
there. So despondent and gloomy was Mr. Bentwell over his plight that
he withdrew to the cave altogether, and stayed there, living on scanty
food. He did not come out, and so did not see the airship making trips
over the island.
“But now I am saved!” he cried. “Let us get away from this awful place!”
“I am willing,” agreed the professor. “I have my valuable toad.”
“But we haven’t the radium,” said Jerry.
“I do not believe it is here,” said Mr. Bentwell. “I searched all over
for it, and found not a trace.”
“Yes, we saw your notes,” spoke the professor. “I saved what were left
of them for you.”
The weather soon became pleasant again, and the river went down. But
the boys in their airship remained on the hill, as they liked it better
there. Jerry asked for three days more in which to search for the
radium treasure, and the others agreed to this.
“Well, I give up,” admitted Jerry, on the afternoon of the third day,
when, after a wearying search, he and his two chums were returning to
the _Comet_. “We’ll start for home to-morrow morning. Mr. Bentwell is
well enough to travel now.”
“I sort of hate to go back empty handed,” spoke Ned regretfully. “It’s
the first time we ever had a real failure.”
“We can’t always be successful,” commented Bob. “Whew! I’m tired. I’m
going to have a rest.”
He sat down on a grassy spot. Just below them was the _Comet_, which
had been fully repaired, and was all ready for the homeward trip. Ned
and Jerry walked on a little way, and then took a seat on a log, for
they, too, were weary. They talked over their adventures, agreeing
that, even though they had not found the radium treasure, they had had
a good vacation.
Bob suddenly jumped up, and rubbed his thigh.
“What’s the matter; sit on a thorn?” asked Ned with a laugh.
“Something like that,” answered the stout lad. “Or else a bee stung me.
Well, come on. It’s all over.”
They were packing up that night, ready for the trip home in the
morning, when Bob complained of a burning sensation in his leg.
“Better let me look at it,” suggested the professor, who knew something
of medicine. “You may have been poisoned by some insect.” But, when he
had looked at a peculiar red spot on Bob’s leg he cried out:
“Boys, that’s the most wonderful thing I ever heard of! Bob has solved
the riddle for us!”
“What riddle?” demanded Jerry eagerly.
“The radium riddle! That’s a blister caused by emanations from radium!”
went on the professor. “Look at it, Mr. Bentwell, and see if you don’t
think so!”
The castaway, who had had his hair cut, and who had shaved himself,
being attired in a spare suit of the professor’s, looked at the red
spot.
“That is undoubtedly a radium burn,” he said quickly. “How did it
happen?”
“It must have been when I sat down to rest,” explained Bob. “On the
hill out there. I felt something sting me, and----”
“It was the radium!” cried Mr. Bentwell. “Where is the place? Let us go
to it at once!”
“We can’t find it in the dark,” objected Jerry, but the professor and
the castaway hurried out on the deck of the airship leading Bob with
them.
“Point out, as nearly as you can, where it was,” begged Uriah Snodgrass.
Bob raised his hand, and, as he did so, he uttered a cry.
“Look! Look!” he gasped. “The ghosts! The ghosts again!”
There, floating down toward the airship, were tall whitish objects,
wrapped in a bluish haze, like the tall forms of willowy beings
shrouded in mist.
“The ghosts!” cried Bob.
“Yes, radium ghosts!” fairly shouted Professor Snodgrass. “I understand
it now. I wonder I didn’t guess it the first time. The ghosts we saw
before were vapors, caused by radium. It is the same now. Boys, we have
at last found the radium treasure! We will get it in the morning!”
They were up at dawn, after an almost sleepless night. Bob pointed out
the spot where he had rested, and digging there, under a thin layer of
sod, was found the peculiar hornblende rock mixed with pitchblende,
which contained the radium. It needed but a simple test to demonstrate
this.
“And the peculiar thing about it is this,” said Professor Snodgrass.
“Usually it takes tons of rock to produce even a grain of radium, but
in this case there is almost pure radium in this sample. We must be
careful of it, for, not only is it very valuable, but it may seriously
harm us if left exposed.”
Accordingly the first sample was put in the lead receptacle prepared
for it, and the work of digging the rock for more was begun.
But if our friends hoped to find an enormous fortune of radium on
Snake Island they were disappointed. For, after they had dug a little
distance down, the rock disappeared, and there was no more of it.
Search as they did, there was only a comparatively small quantity. But
that was of great value, sufficient to more than compensate them for
the trip, for the radium, being almost pure, commanded an exceptionally
high price.
“But there must be some where we first saw the strange ghosts,”
suggested Bob. They went to the place, but found nothing. As there was
a deep hollow, where before there had been none, they concluded that
the flood had washed the precious radium away.
“But we have enough to satisfy almost anyone,” said Jerry, one evening
a few nights later.
In the days following Bob’s unexpected discovery of the precious stuff
they had searched diligently, but no more was located.
“I think we have all there is here,” was the professor’s opinion, and
Mr. Bentwell agreed with him. There was no longer any use in remaining
in that desolate place, and so they arose, and left behind Snake
Island, and the rushing river cutting its way through the mighty chasm,
a mile below the surface of the earth.
Then, with her nose pointed toward Denver, the return trip began.
Little worth mentioning occurred on it. Mr. Bentwell continued to
improve and after a short stay in Denver, at the Montrose home, nearly
all traces of his terrible year on the lonely island disappeared.
Of course the story of the boys caused much comment, and they were
regarded as heroes.
They received many offers for their radium, but they refused nearly all
of them, giving a share of the stuff to Mr. Bentwell, some to Professor
Snodgrass, and a portion to Mr. Montrose. The latter was interested in
a Denver hospital that very much wanted some of the precious metal for
medical purposes.
As for their portions the boys kept some for themselves for future use,
and some they gave to the academy they attended. The rest they sold for
a large sum.
Nothing more was heard from Noddy Nixon, save that he and Bill got
safely home, after much hardship. As for the renegade professor he and
Noddy quarreled, and separated.
“Let’s go all the way home by airship,” proposed Bob as they were about
to leave Denver. “We can have the auto shipped to Cresville, and it’s
much easier to get meals in the _Comet_ than at hotels.”
“Bob, if you mention eating again, until we get home, we’ll put you on
a bread and water diet,” threatened Ned, and Bob went off to the galley
in a huff. But he was soon heard whistling as he made himself some
sandwiches.
The airship trip was voted the best, and accordingly, it was
undertaken. All went well, and in due time they were near their home
town. At his request, Mr. Bentwell was allowed to leave the ship at a
place where he could get a train to his home, for he did not want to
take his new friends out of their way. He had telegraphed, at the first
opportunity, to his relatives, telling them of his rescue. To say that
they, and the world at large, were surprised by his wonderful story, is
putting it mildly.
“Well, we got the radium treasure, after all,” remarked Jerry, one day
a week or so later, when they were all assembled at his house.
“And I caught the two-tailed toad,” added the professor. “My college
has conferred additional honors upon me for that. I am indeed a lucky
individual.”
“I wonder what you’ll look for next?” spoke Bob.
“And I wonder what we’ll do?” added Ned.
Those of you who care to know, may learn by reading the next volume of
the series, which will be called “The Motor Boys on the Border; Or,
Sixty Nuggets of Gold,” a strange tale of the Far West and of Canada.
“Well,” remarked the professor, “I think I will----” He stopped
suddenly, sprang to a small table, and clapped his hand down on it so
suddenly that he upset a pitcher of lemonade, which spilled all over
Bob.
“Ouch! Ugh!” gasped the fat lad. “What’s the matter?”
“I just caught a most rare specimen of a red-winged fly,” answered the
professor, pulling out a specimen box and imprisoning the luckless
insect.
“But--l-l-look at me!” gasped Bob. “I’m all wet!”
“Never mind, it’s a hot day, and you aren’t the only lemon in the
house,” laughed Jerry, as he helped his chum dry himself.
Of course Professor Snodgrass apologized, and made amends by helping
squeeze more lemons. And then, sitting about, he and the boys discussed
their adventures on the trip after the radium treasure. And now, for a
time, we will say good-bye to them.
THE END
A New Line By the Author of the Ever-Popular
“Motor Boys Series”
The Racer Boys Series
by CLARENCE YOUNG
Author of “The Motor Boys Series”, “Jack Ranger Series”, etc. etc.
Fine cloth binding. Illustrated. Price per vol. 60 cts. postpaid.
The announcement of a new series of stories by Mr. Clarence Young is
always hailed with delight by boys and girls throughout the country,
and we predict an even greater success for these new books, than that
now enjoyed by the “Motor Boys”. The stories are in Mr. Young’s best
vein, full of vim and vigor from start to finish, and of a high moral
order. They are in the same style that has made “The Motor Boys Series”
the most popular young people’s line on the market.
The Racer Boys
or The Mystery of the Wreck
This, the first volume of the new series, tells who the Racer Boys were
and how they chanced to be out on the ocean in a great storm. They
rescue another boy in a wrecked motor-boat and take him to their home
only to discover later that the stranger has lost his mind and cannot
remember who he is or where he comes from. Adventures follow each other
in rapid succession, and the Racer Boys finally solve the mystery in a
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The Racer Boys At Boarding School
or Striving for the Championship
When the Racer Boys arrived at the school they found everything at a
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The Racer Boys To The Rescue
or Stirring Days in a Winter Camp
Here is a story filled with the spirit of good times in winter--skating,
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Other Volumes to Follow
CUPPLES & LEON CO., Publishers NEW YORK
The Webster Series
By Frank V. Webster
[Illustration]
Mr. Webster’s style is very much like that of the boys’ favorite
author, the late lamented Horatio Alger Jr., but his tales are
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will prove of absorbing interest to boys everywhere.
Cloth. 12mo. Over 200 pages each. Illustrated. Stamped in various
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Only A Farm Boy
or Dan Hardy’s Rise in Life
Tom The Telephone Boy
or The Mystery of a Message
The Boy From The Ranch
or Roy Bradner’s City Experiences
The Young Treasure Hunter
or Fred Stanley’s Trip to Alaska
Bob The Castaway
or The Wreck of the Eagle
The Newsboy Partners
or Who Was Dick Box?
Two Boy Gold Miners
or Lost in the Mountains
The Young Firemen of Lakeville
or Herbert Dare’s Pluck
The Boy Pilot of the Lakes
or Nat Morton’s Perils
The Boys of Bellwood School
or Frank Jordan’s Triumph
Jack The Runaway
or On the Road with a Circus
Bob Chester’s Grit
or From Ranch to Riches
Airship Andy
or The Luck of a Brave Boy
The High School Rivals
or Fred Markham’s Struggles
Darry The Life Saver
or The Heroes of the Coast
Dick The Bank Boy
or A Missing Fortune
Ben Hardy’s Flying Machine
or Making a Record for Himself
Harry Watson’s High School Days
or The Rivals of Rivertown
Comrades of the Saddle
or The Young Rough Riders of the Plains
The Boys of the Wireless
or a Stirring Rescue from the Deep
CUPPLES & LEON CO., Publishers, NEW YORK
Transcriber’s Notes:
--Text in italics is enclosed by underscores (_italics_); text in bold
by “equal” signs (=bold=).
--Printer, punctuation and spelling inaccuracies were silently
corrected, except as noted below.
--Archaic and variable spelling is preserved.
--Variations in hyphenation and compound words have been preserved.
--Variant spellings of Pittsburg for Pittsburgh (PA.) and Allegany
for Allegeny (River) have been retained as these have been used
consistently throughout the book.
End of Project Gutenberg's The Motor Boys After a Fortune, by Clarence Young